Latch for vehicle doors



April 21, 1931. R, MARPLE 1,801,440

LATCH FOR VEHICLE DOORS Filed Aug. 27, 1925 Patented Apr. 21, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLO MARPLE, F CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO HANCOCK MANUFACTURING CO., 0F CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN LATCH FOR VEHICLE DOORS Application led August 27, 1925. Serial No. 52,729.

'5 inside ofthe vehicle, and which may be locked from the inside against being actuated from the outside, so that the occupant of a closed vehicle may lock the latches of all doors except one from the inside and then lock the remaining door after leaving the vehicle by means ofthe usual lock and key.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a new and improved latch of the above type which is simple, inexpensive, and capable of easy and certainoperation.

A further object is to provide a novel door latch inwhich a single means is provided for actuating the latch'tromthe inside and for actuating the locking means adapted to prevent opening of the door from the outside of the vehicle.

A more specific object is to provide a new and improved latch having two operating means in which the locking means is adapted to be operated by one of the operating means, and coacts with the roll-back instead of the latch, thereby permittingthe latch to move at all times so as to prevent jarring and breaking of glass when the door is slammed.

Another object is to provide a novel door latch in which the moving parts are compactly arranged and firmly held in operative relation by various means formed from the latch casing.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure4 1 is an inside view in elevation of a latch constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. 1. v

i Fig. 3 is a view'silfnilar to Fig. 1 but with a portion of the cover plate removed.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken along lines 4-4 and 5 5 respectively of Fig. 1.

While the invention is susceptible ot various modifications and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawings and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment. but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention as preferably employed consists of a latch bolt for an automobile door with a single inside operator and with a' single outside operator capable of being locked against operation. The inside operator is constructed so that it has in addition to its unlatching motion a distinct and independent second motion which is utilized to operate the locking means for the outside operator. Thus, one may lock or unlock the outside operator merely by imparting to the inside operator its second motion without unlatching the door. But there is also rovided a means relating the two motions which compels an unlocking motiony of the inside operator coincident with its unlatching motion in case the outside operator is locked, this means however being otherwise ineffective to move the inside operator to actuate the lock.

Referring to the exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the

latch mechanism is mounted in a casing which comprises a base plate 5 having anend flange 6, and an irregularly shaped deck or cover plate 7 removably secured in any suitable manner to the base plate. In the present instance, the portion of the cover plate remote from the flange 6 is depressed and held against the inside face of the base plate by lugs 8 struck in from the base plate. The remaining portion of the cover plate is supported in spaced relation to the base plate and is secured to the base plate by screws 9 entering tapped projections 10 on the base plate. Since the ,thickness overall of the latch member is greater than the spacebctween the base plate and the cover plate, the latter is slotted longitudinally as shown at 15EL and across this slot, in offset. and raised relation thereto. is a bridge or tie-brace 7a.

, the latch 11 may be'engaged by an operating plates.

vlatth" 1 1 which is of greater thickness than the distance between the hase and rover The depressed portion of the cover plate is cut away as indicated at 15 so that member as will be later described. A flat coil spring 16 is mounted in-fa depressed portion 17 of the buse plate beneath the cover plate so that the latter will hold the spring on a stud 18 struck in lfrom the base plate.

The free end of theksprin'g 1G engages a shoul- -fder 19 formed ont` the inner side ot the latch and tends to movethe latter outwardly.

A roll-back 20 is lnounted between the cover and base plate on a stud Q1 supported bv the base plate and is adapted to move the latch llinwardly against the force of the spring 16. To this end, an arm Q2 on the roll-back extends into the space between the shoulder 19 and a second shoulder 19 and normally abuts against the latter. A dog 23 is mounted on a hub 24 rotatably supported in an opening 25 in the base plate and is adapted to actuate"-the Vroll-back 20. The hub 24 is adapted to receive the squared shaft ota handle on the outside of the door (not shown). A lug 26 on the dog Q3 is adapted to engage one of the rejections 10 and thereby limit the outward) movement of the latch To ositively lock the latch 1l against inward)movement by means of the outer handle on the door, a dog Q7 is pivotally mounted on a pin 28 on the base plate 5. The dog 27 is rovided with a lug Z9 adapted to be move into and out of engagement with a stop lug 30 on the roll-back 20. To yieldingly hold-the dog in adjusted position, a leaf spring 3l is adapted to bear against a steel ball 32 mounted in an opening in the dov 27 and serves to selectively hold tbe ball in oles 33 in the base plate.

The dog 27 is adapted to be actuated by a verticallvarranged rotary spindle 34 provided with a handle 35 adapted to be operated from the inside of the door. A fixed collar 3G on the spindle engages a notch 53T in the dog QT for all positions of rotation of the spindle so that the dog will be oscillated to rock the lufT Q9 into and out of locking engagcxneutvritli the lug I3() upon shitting of the spindle longitudinally.

The spindle Il-lslidably and rotatably journallcd in two bearings termed by two curved straps 39 coacting with the inside face of the base late. Pre erably, the straps 39 are formed rom the depressed portion of the cover plate which, as before stated, is cut away at 15 so that thel s indle may be operatively connected to the atch. For this purpose. a portion ofthe spindle between the eollar 36 and the lower bearing strap is bent into the form of a crank 40 which engages an abutment 41 on the inner end of the latch. A coiled spring 42 mounted on the spindle 34 tends to rotate it in a counter-clockwise direction and thereby serves to yieldingly hold the spindle against rotation when neither the crank 40 nor the roll-back 9.0 is engaging the latch. This will occur when the vehicle door is slammed shut.I 43 is a hole cut in the base plate to receive the collar 36.

A V-notch 44 is cut in the upper strap 29 to receive a radially projecting `iin 45 on the spindle 34 when the latter is s ifted downwardly to move the dog 27 into locking engagement with the roll-back 20. Upon rotation ot the spindle to unlatch they door, the pin 45 will ride along the inclined edge 46 of the notch 44 and thereby automaticallv an'li the spindle upwardly to unlock the rollac t.

It will be evident that I have provided a new and improved latch which canbeoperated from the inside or the outside of the door, and which can be locked by simply shifting the operating means on the inside of the door to prevent operating the latch from the outside of the door. By simply actuating the inside operating means through its unlatching motion, the operating means on the outside will be automatically unlocked, or by merely raising Vthe inside operator without unlatching the door,'the outside operator will be unlocked. Thus, a single dual acting means is rovided for actuating the latch and for ocking the roll-back from the interior of the vehicle, the dual functions being independent in the 'unlocked position of the outside operator, and being partially dependent upon an inside unlatching operation in the locked -condition of'the outside operator. The moving parts are compactly arranged and firmly held in operative relation by means formed on the latch casing members. With this arrangement a minimum number of parts are employed, and these can be readily and cheaplv assembled in an extremely compact relationship.

I claim as my invention:

1. A latch for vehicle doors having, in combination, a base plate, a cover plate having portions bent to form a pair oi bearing straps, a latch, a spring for moving said latch outwardly, means for moving said latch inwardly, locking means for said first mentioned means, a rotary sliding spindle engaging said latch to move it inwardly, said spindle upon being' rotated serving to actuate said latch and upon being shifted serving to actuate said locking means, a projection on saidspindle, and' a camsurface formed onone ot said bearing straps engaging said projection inv the locking position of said spindle whereby to automatically shift said spindle when the spindle is rotated.

2. A latch for vehicle doors having, in combination, a base'plate,.a cover plate having bent portions coacting With said base plate to form a pair of bearings, a latch, spring means for moving said latch outwardly, a rotary sliding spindle journaled in said bearings and adapted to move said latch inwardly, pivotal means also adapted to move said latch inwardly, locking means adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with said pivotal means by shifting said spindle longitudinally, and means including a cam surface on one of said bearing portions for automatically shifting said spindle to disen' `gage said locking and pivotallmeans upon rotation of the spindle.

3. A latch for vehicle doors having, in combination, a casing, a latch slid'ably disposed in said casing, spring means for m'oving said latch outwardly, a roll-back engaging said latch Jfor moving 'said latch inwardly, a vertical spindle rotatably and slidably mounted in said casing and having a crank portion engaging said latch to move said latch inwardly, and a locking dog operatively engaging said spindle and adapted to be moved into and out of locking engagement with said roll-back upon shifting said spindle longitudinally.

4. A latch for vehicle doors having.r in

combination, a casing, a latch slidably disposed in said casing, spring means for moving said latch outwardly, a roll-back engaging said latch or moving said latch inwardly", a vertical spindle rotatably and slidably mounted in said casing and having a crank portion engaging said latch to move said latch inwardly, a locking dog operatively engaging said spindle and adapted to be moved into and out of locking engagement with said roll-back upon shifting said spindle longitudinally, and means toi' shitting said spindle longitudinally as the latter is rotated to move the latch inwardly to move said locking member out of engagement with said roll-backI 5. In a lock having a rotary spindle latchbolt-operator, a base plate, and a cover plate, said spindle bearing upon the base plate, said cover plate at each side of the bearing lying fiat against the base plate and being depressed outwardly to form bearings for the spindle.

6. In a lock having a rotary spindle latchbolt-operator provided with a crank portion, a base plate, and a cover plate` said spindle bearing upon the base plate. said cover plate at each side of the bearing lying tlat against the base plate and being depressed outwardly to form bearings for the spindle and being recessed between the bearings to provide for movement of the crank beyond the plane of the cover plate and the remainder of said -plate being spaced from the base plate to form a housing for the lock mechanism.

7.A In a lock having a rotary spindle latchbolt-operator, a base plate, a cover plate, said crank bearing upon the base plate, said cover plate at each side of the bearing lying fiat against the base plate and being depressed outwardly to form bearings for the spindle, and lugs struck up from said base plate eX- tending parallel ,thereto to clamp the cover plate against said baseplate.

8. lA door lock having, in combination. a spring projected bolt, independent outside and inside operators for the bolt, a locking member operatively associated with the inside operat-or and adapted to prevent operation of the bolt by the outside operator, and

-means operating automatically in the movement of the inside operator in a direction to withdrawthe bolt to impart an additional movement to the inside operator whereby to move the locking member into retired position.

9. In a-door lock, the combination of a base plate, a bolt mounted to slide longitudinally on said .base plate and having its inner end portion cut away on the side adjacent the base plate, a roll-back mounted on the base plate and having a portion adapted to enter between the base plate and the bolt, said bolt having a rib formed thereon with which said roll-back is adapted to engage, a cover plate secured to the base plate and having a main portion spaced a short distance therefrom and an inner end portion depressed so as to lie fiat against the base plate, said depressed portion being recessed to permit the passage of the inner end of the bolt, and means on the base plate for guiding the inner end of the .bolt for movement over the depressed portion of thecover plate.

10. A door lock comprising, in combination, a base plate', a bolt having an outer end portion slidable directly on the base plate, and an inner end portion spaced from the base plate, a bolt retracting member, a cover plate having a main portion secured to the base plate in spaced relation thereto and a depressed portion secured liat upon the base plate, said depressed portion of the cover plate being apertured to permit the passage of the inner end of the bolt therethrough, and said base plate having a raised portion providing a bearing arranged to guide the inner end of the bolt over the portion ofthe cover plate engaging' the base plate.

ll. A door lock comprising. in combination, a base plate, a spring pressed bolt having an outer end portion slidable directly on the base plate, and an inner end portion spaced from the base plate, 'a retracting member for the bolt, a cover plate 'having a main portion secured to the base plate in spaced relation thereto and a portion depressed into engagement with the base plate, and apertured to permit the passage of the inner end of the bolt therethrough, andmeans arranged to guide the inner end of the bolt over the portion of the cover plate engaging the base plate, the main portion of the cover plate heilig spaced from the base plat-e a distance less than the thickness of the bolt and said cover plate'being slotted to receive the bolt and having a portion bridging said slot but bent outwardly into the plane of the side of the bolt opposite the base plate.

1Q. A door lock comprising, in combination, a base plate, a bolt having an outerend portion slidable directly on the base plate, and an inner end portion spaced from the base plate, a bolt retracting member, a cover plate having a main portion secured to the ase plate in spaced relation thereto, and a depressed portion secured Hat upon the base plate, said depressed portion of the cover plate being apertured to permit the passage of the inner end of the bolt therethrough, said base plate having a raised portion providing a bearing arranged to guide the inner end of the bolt over the portion of the cover plate engaging the base plate, and a spring mounted on the base plate and operatively engaging the bolt on the side adjacent the base plate, said base plate having a depression therein to receive said spring.

13. A lock comprising, in combination, a base plate, a cover plate having a main portion arranged to be parallel to the base plate in spaced relation thereto and an inner end portion depressed so as to lie flat upon the base plate, said base plate having struck-up lugs with which said bent portion of the cover plate may engage,"means for fastening the main portion of the cover plate to the base plate, a bolt having an outer end portion slidable directly upon the base plate and an inner end portion spaced from the base plate, the depressed portion of the cover` plate a paiigfof independently operable retractors "'fo'insa'id bolt, one of said retractors being axially movable, a movable member for locking one of said retractors against movement, and means operable upon axial movement of the other retractor for moving said member to locking position.

1G. A latch mechanism comprising a sliding latch bolt, a pair of independently operable retractors for said bolt, one of said retractors being aX-ially movable, a movable element for locking the other retractor against movement, means associated with said axially movable rctractor for automatically actuating said element out of locking position, when said axially movable retractor is turned a predetermined degree, said element being moved to locking 'position upon axial movement of said axially movable retract/or, and means for causing a clicking sound when said locking element is moved to locking position.

1T. In a latch, the combination with a substantially vertical spindle, of a rollback having a shoulder, and means for dogging the rollback including a member operatively connected to the spindle having a shoulder engageable with the shoulder aforesaid.

18. In a latch, the combination with a bolt retracting member, and means for (logging said member, of a second bolt retracting meniber journaled in aligned bearings for both rotary and rectilinear movement and means for actuating said dogging means rendered effective by a rectilinear movement of the second member and rendered ineffective by a ROLLO MARPLE.

being apertured to receive the inner end of the bolt, means for guiding the inner end portion of the bolt over the inner end of the cover plate, and bolt retracting means including a member mounted on the base plate and adapted to engage with the bolt.

14. A latch mechanism having a latch bolt, a pair of independently operable retractors for said bolt, ay member for locking one of .said retractors against movement, and means carried by the other retractor for moving said locking member to locking position, said means being also operable to move said member away from locking position upon a predetermined turning movement of said other retractor.

15. A latch mechanism, having a latch bolt, 

